Meet the Bologna Maker

Ya like that bologna!?!

Oops, I mean baloney!

The silly kind…not the foodstuff abomination!!

Quick question:

What’s the best way to encourage critical thinking?

Answer:

Give ’em that baloney!

When you joke around enough with kids, they start to ask more questions. Curiosity is created in the chaos of craziness.

I stumbled across this in my own childhood.

My parents would give me ridiculous answers to important questions, in jest. When I figured them out, I felt so proud…like I had secret inside info.

So, I do the same for my kids.

It’s kinda like crying wolf, but there’s always a playful tone that we use…that we turn off in the face of danger. If there is an actual issue, like the brakes fail in the car and we’re careening off of a cliff…I say:

“No no no! SHIT SHIT SHIT! The brakes! The brakes failed!!!”

But when I’m joking around to get a rise out of the family, I’ll say it like this, ahem:

“No no no! SHIT SHIT SHIT! The brakes! The brakes failed!!!”

See the difference?

Now, you can use your newfound tactic to encourage curiosity in your own friends and family. Trust me, it definitely gets the thinker thingy thinking. You might even pick up a new friend or two, if you joke around at, say…a grocery store.

Tell your new buddy that the items in their cart are stolen and watch their face. Don’t forget to tell them that you’re just kidding.

If you’re accustomed to dad jokes, it’s even better. Sprinkle some of those babies around in public and at home. You’ll be stimulating those synapses all over the place.

When the bologna hits the fan, use baloney to save the day…

…it just might save your life!

I jest.